Thit Ga Bop Rau Ram- Hue Chicken Salad

A love story, or why did the chicken cross the road? Hmmm, sometimes, the road finds us.  A lovely woman came back into my life, and when she brings you a chicken, make chicken salad! If it slaps you into tomorrow, hang on and marry her!

I have spent more than half my life in a kitchen, so when An and I began dating, I figured I could woo her with dinner (or lose her, pending my cooking skills!) With a little luck, I was able to steal her heart! Eventually, she chose a special night to cook.  Her mother taught her this dish, and I was hooked.  

I have eaten many Vietnamese chicken salads, but the herbs and zesty onion make this my favorite.  I am not including any measurements as it is all to taste.  I prefer a huge amount of herbs and lime juice.  You can add other garnishes also, including thinly sliced chiles, fried onions, or cracked black pepper.  I add all of the above.  

When I make this, it is not as good as hers, but then again the student rarely passes the teacher.

1 Whole Chicken, rinsed and rubbed with lemon

Red Onion, thinly sliced

Green Onion, thinly sliced

Rice Vinegar

Limes

Cilantro

Rau Ram

Roasted Peanuts

Nuoc Cham

In a large pot of boiling water, add ginger, peppercorns, and garlic with the chicken.  Poach for about 30 minutes until cooked through.  While the chicken is cooking, toss the onions with a small amount of rice wine vinegar.  Remove the chicken and let it cool.  Strain the liquids and chill quickly.  Save this for a nice light chicken stock.

When the chicken has cooled, remove the skin and shred.  Then continue shredding the meat.  When all the meat has been picked, toss some of it with the onions and skin.  Add some herbs and nuoc cham.  Continue the process until you have a nice salad.  Garnish with peanuts, lime juice and more nuoc cham.

  

While eating or cooking, we love music.  Sometimes it appears that our life revolves around music and concerts.  We scan the national tours hoping to find the next groups to visit New Orleans, also looking forward to the upcoming festivals trying to relive our youth through music!  

We enjoy debating on which song or band rules certain genres or decades.  Power ballads are a favorite topic, and the discussion never ends.  So in honor of the John Cusack movie High Fidelity, I will make a list of my top five power ballads in order of greatness.  An will disagree, but that will only lead to a grand discussion about Sebastian Bach's greatness or the vocal ability of Klaus Meine!

Top Five Power Ballad's

1) Home Sweet Home- Motley Crue

2) I Remember You- Skid Row

3) Still Loving You- The Scorpions

4) November Rain- Guns N Roses

5) Don't Know What You Got Til Its Gone- Cinderella

Gio Thu- Vietnamese Hogshead

Are you really eating a pig head?  Well, yeah!  Sticky, gelatinous goodness with earthy spices and chili; what could be better.  

In South Louisiana, hogshead cheese appears throughout our grocery stores and on many restaurant charcuterie boards.  Cooking down a pig head with various herbs and spices is a common practice among professional and amateur Cajun/Creole cooks, and it is a tasty treat when done properly.  The pig organs release a gelatin which creates an aspic that allows the ingredients to mold into a terrine.  The technique originated in Europe, and possibly due to the French influence it became common in Vietnam.  Although slightly different, the version made in Vietnam is more gelatinous and has an earthy taste with the addition of five spice powder.  Traditionally, this is a layer in a banh mi dac biet (combination sandwich), and gio thu is a staple during Tet when it is eaten with sweet and sour mustard greens.   I enjoy slicing it thinly, wrapping it in Vietnamese coriander and cilantro, and dipping in nuoc mam. 

Make sure the meat is washed and cleaned thoroughly.  The head should have the brains removed, and the tongue should be peeled of the outer layer (this can be done after the boiling period).  

Gio Thu- Hogshead

1 pig face- cheek meat and snout attached

2 pig ears

1 pig tongue

5lbs. pork bones

1 cup dry fungus-*

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 shallots minced

3 cloves garlic minced

4 tbsp fish sauce-*

1 tbsp Chinese five spice powder-*

         1 tbsp red chili flakes

1 tbsp coarse ground black  peppercorns

*- can be found at your local Asian market

Soak the dry fungus in water while you prepare the meat.  Rinse off all the meat and thoroughly clean all parts.  Boil all the pig meat for about 45 minutes until the ears are tender when you push your fingernail into them.  Your nail should leave an indentation.  Rinse the meat under cold water to prevent discoloration.  When it cools enough to handle, peel the outer layer off the tongue (if you haven't done so), slice the ears, and cut the other pieces into a large dice.

In a large pan or wok, heat sesame oil.  When very hot, add shallots and garlic, stir fry quickly until aromatic, then add fungus and meat.  Cook on medium high heat stirring gently to begin releasing the natural gelatin.  After a few minutes, add fish sauce and spices.  Cook until the meat and fungus become sticky.  

Line a mold with plastic wrap, and fill with meat.  Seal tightly, and place a weight on top to press it down overnight.  After about 24 hours, unmold and slice thinly.  Traditionally, this is a layer in a banh mi, but it can also be eaten as a snack with herbs and nuoc mam.   

r

The toughest decision of the day- Metal? Punk? 80's? Rockabilly?  Hmm, not sure, I know the answer.  The Cult was the background music of choice and helped shape my view of Rock & Roll.  Now back in the early to mid 80's, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy blasted into the American rock scene with a sound that crossed over numerous genres.  I remember a trip to LSU with the Cult's Electric album blasted over the speakers of my buddy's parent's station wagon!  She Sells Sanctuary remains a staple of 80's satellite radio.  Manly food such as gio thu needs manly music, and the Cult is a nice injection of testosterone.

Time for a drink!!   Beer!  I rarely drink beer, but sometimes I just enjoy the cold refreshing taste.  Tin Roof Blonde Ale...the Baton Rouge brewery gives us a nice beer to pair with pig parts and a bonus- a purple and gold can so we can think of the LSU Tigers with every sip!

Vietnamese Crudo, Yuzu Nuoc Mam, Pomelo, Saigon Herbs

Being that I am Italian, I will take the liberty of using the term crudo when describing this dish.  Considering that I will dress the fish, it is closer to a traditional crudo than the Japanese sashimi.  However, the use of yuzu does bring in a Japanese element, but who is following the rules today anyhow?  I try to stick to the more traditional preparations, but today my restaurant side got the best of me, and I put together something of a hybrid.  

Originally grown in China, the yuzu has become very popular in Japanese cooking.  Ironically, the name in Chinese refers to the pomelo, which we will discuss in a moment.  Tart and aromatic are two characteristics of the fruit.  Since citrus juice is added to nuoc mam, I have used yuzu juice and heightened the tartness in the crudo. 

For texture and a slight sweetness, pomelo segments will be added.  The pomelo is a large citrus in the shape of a pear but with the skin of a grapefruit.  However, when you cut it open, the pith is very thick with a dense inner flesh.  

Striped Bass Crudo with Yuzu Nuoc Mam, Pomelo and Saigon Fresh Herbs

2 filetsStriped Bass sliced 

1 pomelo segmented

1 tbsp yuzu nuoc mam (recipe below)

1 tsp lemongrass minced white only

2 shallots minced

1 tsp cilantro chopped

1 tsp Vietnamese coriander chopped-*

1 tsp perilla chopped-*

Yuzu Nuoc Mam

½cup fish sauce-*¼cup water

2tbsp rice wine vinegar 

¼ cup palm sugar (or to taste)-*

1or 2 limes juiced

3cloves garlic minced

2Thai chilis thinly sliced-*

1 tbsp yuzu juice-*

*- ingredients can be found at your local Asian Market

Make sure the fish is very cold as this will make it easier to slice.  Cut open the pomelo, and clean all the pith and skin away from the flesh.  Using a very sharp knife, cut the segments avoiding all seeds and flesh.  You should have nice pieces of fruit that are very clean, which you can now slice into thin pieces.  The white pith is very bitter, and we do not want that mucking up our fish.  

Over low heat, warm up the first four ingredients for nuoc mam, and when the sugar is dissolved, add the rest and taste for balance.  It should be salty, sweet, sour, and spicy.  You can adjust it accordingly.

Gently cut the fish into nice uniform slices moving the knife across the grain of the meat.  Carefully place the fish slices on a plate and add the pomelo segments.  Dress the plate with herbs, lemongrass, shallots, and nuoc mam.  You may want to add more or less of each depending on your taste.  Personally, I enjoy the freshness of a lot of herbs, so I tend to overdo them, but to each his own.  Just make it however you feel it tastes best.  

Crudo and The Cure!  Yeah, that is kind of what happened.  I fell into a bizarre trance of Simon Gallup's bass and fish!  I agree that it makes no sense, but what can you do?  Plus, "Love Song" reminds me of my wife which puts a big smile on my face.  Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was the Cure album that changed my outlook towards music, but I was lost in Disintegration and enjoyed it!

So let's make a drink!! I found a few trusty ingredients and came up with a little bourbon flavored beverage.   Saigon Mint Julep- 2 oz. bourbon, 1oz. simple syrup, 2 oz. pineapple juice, splash of yuzu juice, perilla, lemongrass- muddle perilla and lemongrass, add ice, bourbon, simple syrup, yuzu, and pineapple juice.  Mix well, and enjoy!  Now I need to invite Robert Smith over to have a drink, and I can wonder if his hair is always that big!  

Smoked Veal Salad

Fireworks, parades, celebrations?  Yeah, that's how New Year's Day is spent in America but is this commonplace elsewhere?

In many parts of Asia, the celebration of the New Year  begins a month or so after January 1st.  The first day (until the third day) of the first month of the Lunar Calendar (late January or early February), the Vietnamese people celebrate the holiday known as Tet Nguyen Dan (meaning Feast of the First Morning) or simply Tet.  Traditionally, parades, fireworks, games and gifts of money are part of the celebration otherwise known as- an Tet- meaning to eat Tet!  As with most cultures, food begins to take center stage during holiday settings.  During Tet, duck is considered to be unlucky and shrimp walk backwards, thus making you move backwards (as opposed to progressing through life); other seasonal dishes become a part of the Feast. Visit your local Vietnamese community to enjoy the celebration of Tet or find the nearest Asian Market and expand your pantry.

Dried candied fruits, pickled vegetables and sticky rice filled with meat or mung bean are among the various dishes offered.  However, our focus will be on a seldom seen dish involving smoked veal and wonderful fresh herbs.  This specialty becomes prominent during Tet, however, we enjoy it any time of year.

In Vietnam, a whole calf is roasted in an open flame pit, but http://www.tanbinhbethui.com/ supplies the roasted veal to many Asian markets throughout the US.  The method is slightly different but the results are wonderful.  The meat is already sliced and beautifully packaged, which makes this a wonderful year-round treat.

Be Thui-Smoked Veal Salad

1lb. Vietnamese Style Roasted/Smoked Veal Sliced-*

2 each red or yellow onion

¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

1 bunch perilla-*

1 bunch Vietnamese coriander-*

roasted peanuts

roasted rice powder-*

Ginger Nuoc Mam

½ cup fish sauce-*

¼ cup water

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar 

¼ cup palm sugar (or to taste)-*

1 or 2 limes juiced

3 cloves garlic minced

2 Thai chilis thinly sliced-*

2 tbsp ginger minced

*- ingredients can be found at your local Asian Market

Nuoc mam, a staple of Vietnamese cuisine, adds sweet, salty, spicy and acidic flavors to any dish, and this version includes freshly chopped ginger.  Thai palm sugar is my choice but any type of sugar will work, and we use unseasoned rice wine vinegar.  Measurements are provided but have fun with this and adjust according to your tastes.  You might want less sugar or more spice, so play with it and change it according to your palate.

Break up the sugar, and add it to the liquids while bringing to a slow simmer.  This will allow the sugar to melt nicely and blend the flavors together.  While working the sauce, finely chop the garlic, ginger and thinly slice the chilis.  After a few minutes, the sugar should melt properly, and the chilis, ginger and garlic are added. Turn off the heat and let is rest, then thinly slice the red onion and toss it in rice wine vinegar. 

As the onions are marinating, tear the herbs from the thick stems and set aside.  Now we are ready to plate the salad.  Layer the onions on the bottom with the sliced veal on top, and sprinkle a teaspoon or so of roasted rice powder along with the sesame seeds over the top of the salad.  Garnish heavily with the torn herbs, and serve the nuoc mam on the side.  The smokiness of the veal pairs beautifully with the freshness of the ingredients.